Giulio Cesare Procaccini

This painting was executed in circa 1620 in the Milan of Cardinal Federico Borromeo. In this cultivated environment Giulio Cesare Procaccini was considered the most refined and “international” artist, and the “Holy Family with the Infant Saint John” represents the pinnacle of his mature period, in which sculptural monumentality, emotional intensity and pictorial brilliance blend masterfully. This painting displays a highly elegant language that blends references to Correggio and Parmigianino with those of Rubens, whom Procaccini had admired and studied during his long stays in Genoa.

Recent conservation has revealed the excellent condition of the picture surface, bringing to light the freshness of the artist’s handling of paint characterised by swift, loose brushstrokes and the “bozze” and “macchie” (rapid strokes of brushwork) for which Procaccini was much celebrated by those who collected his work, and in which manner he continued to paint right up to the last years of his career.  This unique method of handling paint can be seen in the swift, loose strokes which define the splendid white fabric that falls from the Virgin’s lap to the foreground, and in the figures’ light, curly hair, in which one can almost sense the softness of the spiralling curls. The protagonists of this painting seem to break out of the dark background, and their compression into a narrow space enhances their emphatic gestures and postures. Their elegant features and surging, well-rounded figures increase the refinement and energy of the whole composition.